World Table Tennis Championships 2017

[yoass]

Most likely on his wrist. In the press conference after the match, he said it was only a small dose.

That's how it starts. A little pain here and there, small inconveniences turning into little injuries. It's all downhill from there…

 

[Garrison]

Quote from Ma Long on ittf.com:

“I am so happy to win, at the same time I am so tired. I hope this match will be remembered by everyone in the history of table tennis; this is the definitely the craziest match I have ever played and will ever play, I think I have never played like this before. I feel very happy to win, feel I was a bit lucky this time, I feel sorry for Fan Zhendong, but the future belongs to him. Mentally I was not certain on how to prepare for the match, so I consulted Liu Guoliang. I thank him for his guidance and tolerance. I would also like to especially thank Zhang Jike because of his achievements, I really look up to him and he is my role model, I have learned a lot from his game.”

 

[samsara]

Some screenshots...

2017 WTTC - MS & WD WINNERS



MS Medalists (L-R): FAN Zhendong; MA Long; LEE Sangsu; XU Xin







WD Medalists (L-R): ZHU Yuling/CHEN Meng; DING Ning/LIU Shiwen; Hina HAYATA/Mima ITO; YU Mengyu/FENG Tianwei

 

[samsara]

See You Folks in the 2018 WTTTC in Halmstad, Sweden (04/2018)

 

[Raylazyfo]

Ma long winning at deuce in the decider was payback for fan zhendong winning at deuce in the decider during the marvellous 12

 

[TableTennisDaily]

The champ!

 

[samsara]

Btw, I just read visitor's comment at some janus770 youtube page that ITTF changed the ball into plastic and enlarged the ball size to make the Chinese players more beatable in future competitions, just another tweak like in the past to increase the sport competitiveness between the players from the ROW vs China.

What is your take, dude?

 

[ttmonster]

Any idea why he is thanking Zhang Jike , did not quite get the context ... don't tell me Zhang Jike is going to hang up his boots !

Quote from Ma Long on ittf.com:

 

[rainneverever]

The translation was misleading. Ma Long was not learning Zhang Jike's game. He looked up to Zhang Jike because of Zhang's achievement in the major tournaments which set a bar for himself. Now they have the same numbers of major titles.

Any idea why he is thanking Zhang Jike , did not quite get the context ... don't tell me Zhang Jike is going to hang up his boots !

 

[ttmonster]

thanks rain ... inspite of his loss , I felt Zhang Jike is physically getting back to a better place , still keeping my fingers crossed for exciting Zhang Jike vs Ma Long finals in the future ...

The translation was misleading. Ma Long was not learning Zhang Jike's game. He looked up to Zhang Jike because of Zhang's achievement in the major tournaments which set a bar for himself. Now they have the same numbers of major titles.

 

[NextLevel]

The translation was misleading. Ma Long was not learning Zhang Jike's game. He looked up to Zhang Jike because of Zhang's achievement in the major tournaments which set a bar for himself. Now they have the same numbers of major titles.

It wasn't misleading other than "role model" - I understood exactly what he meant. He has always been trying to catch up to Zhang Jike and now he finally has. You will find the same dynamic between Nadal and Federer and even amongst non-contemporaries like Jordan and James or Nicklaus and Woods in many sports.

 

[NextLevel]

See You Folks in the 2018 WTTTC in Halmstad, Sweden (04/2018)

It is tough to go watch in all these knowledgeable TT countries where the seats will be full, that said, I will try to make that one as the teams event is probably more permissive and I know Nigeria will field a team.

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

Deuce in the 7th. As good as it gets. Two great players. Have to give it to Ma Long. He steps into an elite group as one of the top 3-4 players in history with the likes of JO Waldner and Wang Liqin. Without question, the most dominant player of this current era.

Glad to see how well Harimoto and Lee Sangsu did. Props to Timo as well. He played better than he has in years.

But there was only one player who was close to Ma Long. Ma Long was too strong for anyone else. Only FZD is at a level to give Ma Long a real run for his money right now.


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[NextLevel]

Deuce in the 7th. As good as it gets. Two great players. Have to give it to Ma Long. He steps into an elite group as one of the top 3-4 players in history with the likes of JO Waldner and Wang Liqin. Without question, the most dominant player of this current era.

Glad to see how well Harimoto and Lee Sangsu did. Props to Timo as well. He played better than he has in years.

But there was only one player who was close to Ma Long. Ma Long was too strong for anyone else. Only FZD is at a level to give Ma Long a real run for his money right now.


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Reminds you of how good Zhang Jike was before 2015. People forget this. But it has to be said.

 

[Dan]

i just watched the highlights again haha what a great game. Fan Zhendong is only 20, some of those backhands he hit I have never seen anything like it. Give him a year or two and he will be unstoppable. I would like to see a battle between Harimoto and Fan Zhendong to see how that match unfolds.

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

Reminds you of how good Zhang Jike was before 2015. People forget this. But it has to be said.

Exactly. And if ZJK gets healthy and back on track, it could become even more interesting.

But right now ML and FZD are on a different level than anyone else. And if Ma Long ever was going to silence the people who talk about his composure under pressure, down 7-9 in the 7th, and taking 5 of the next 6 points....well....it's hard for anyone to say stuff like that about ML anymore.

But it is funny to read comments where people think a certain player should just roll over and retire because they are having some problems at the moment. Two years ago people were saying how Timo Boll should retire and how he was finished and look how well he played in this tournament!

These guys are athletes. It is good to see a seasoned athlete overcome adversity and fight back from low points in their career. And it is also nice to see the next generation rising. There is a place for both.

And if everyone who went into a slump and had a streak of bad performances just decided to give up and retire, I think we may only be left with ML, FZD, Harimoto and LSS. [emoji2]


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[ttmonster]

I missed the actual batch but watched the highlights, the HD highlights were really great , what I noticed throughout the match was that Ma Long was trying to slow down the game so that he does not give FZD enough pace for him to start attacking , I believe thats the only area where FZD is lacking a little bit is to adjust to the change of pace ...

i just watched the highlights again haha what a great game. Fan Zhendong is only 20, some of those backhands he hit I have never seen anything like it. Give him a year or two and he will be unstoppable. I would like to see a battle between Harimoto and Fan Zhendong to see how that match unfolds.

 

[Baal]

Asfor ZJK, the guy has earned whatever breaks he is given. But the guy who beat him is good.

 

[NextLevel]

I missed the actual batch but watched the highlights, the HD highlights were really great , what I noticed throughout the match was that Ma Long was trying to slow down the game so that he does not give FZD enough pace for him to start attacking , I believe thats the only area where FZD is lacking a little bit is to adjust to the change of pace ...

I am having the same problem on a lower level. You have to find ways of containing the more powerful and faster players, Ma Long just has the control and enough power to do it. I am realizing that I have to resort to more spin variation and tricks like Ma Lin and Ma Long, otherwise, you will just be picking up the ball instead of playing it.

You can imagine how Koki Niwa feels, it takes him 4 games to control FZD, then FZD has time to figure out what is going on and adapt. With Ma Long, FZD has no coach, so Ma Long can get away with it a little longer and has the power to play it a little better when it fails.

 

[Baal]

Ma Long had to learn how to not choke. He learned really well! He is amazing.